Bearing seal



May 18, 1954 R. A. GRIEFEN 2,678,837

BEARING SEAL FiledAug. 19, 1952 if x.

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Patented May 18, 1954 BEARING SEAL RicliardwA.-` Griefen, ArlingtonHeights,y Illi, as?im signonto 1R.aytheon.- Manufacturing Company, acorporation `of Delaware Application August '19, 1952,A SerialNo.305,233

4 Claims.

This'V` inventionv relatesirr generalto bearing seals and( moreparticularly tobearing seals having'O rings In packing boxes of the typeused in submarines and in bearing seal assemblies; in general, whereinforings are utilized, there is excessive friction that causes considerablelosses. Further, in such' assemblies the -torquedistribution is notuniform; causing locking -andexcessive 4wear on certain-parts thereof.

Accordingly, animportant object of the present inventionisto provideabearing seal having a pluralityvof 0 -rings retained in av tapered ringfor Kprovidingv uniform torque distribution.

Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide-a bearing sealcausinga reduction in torque requirements for rotation as pressure appliedto a iluid is decreased. and still maintain a complete seal at anypressure that may be applied to a fluid.

Otherobjects and features will appear upon furtherperusal of thedetailed 'descriptiontaken inconjunction with theaccompanying drawingsin which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the novel bearing seal of the presentinvention having a cutaway section to lillustrate the O` ring assemblythereof and- Figure 2 is apartial sectional view taken sub stantiallyalongthe line 2-2 of Figure l to illustrateltheplurality of O rings heldin a tapered ring.

Briefly described, a novel bearing seal is herein provided comprising atapered retaining ring having a trapezoidal cross section and positionedina counterbore between a tapered portion of a rotatable shaft and anouter housing.

An inner O ring is tted in a groove of the tapered retaining ring andengage the tapered portion of the shaft for providing a seal. An outer Oring is fitted in a groove of the tapered retaining ring and engages theouter housing for providing a seal.

For providing a minimum sealing engagement, a pressure retaining springengages the tapered ring to maintain a minimum pressure thereon. Thespring abuts against a cap attached to the outer housing forpositioning.

As the pressure on the iiuid is increased, the pressure is applied tothe tapered retaining ring causing a greater sealing effect between theo rings and the elements in engagement therewith. As the pressure on theuid decreases, the torque `requirements on the shaft are commensuratelydecreased, since the tapered ring relaxes the 2i Squeeze between'the Orings and thecomponentsA int engagement'therewith.- The pressureretain#- ing lspring'always-*maintains a minimum sealing e effect.

Referring now `to Figures l' and 42, a-conventional packing box IIlisherein provided-having a suitable outer housingor chamberfII 4'withlasuitable bore I2 therethrough. A suitablerotatablekshaft I3 is providedwhich is suitably received yby thefhousing I I.

For maintaining a seal between the shaft I3 and the outer housing II `soas to prevent any fluid from passing therebetween, a conventionall outer0 ring retaining member Ill-and a conventional inner 0 ring retainingmember I5 having-` therebetween an O ring I 6 are provided. The inner Oring retaining member I5 abuts against a shoulder I'I in the shaft I3.The outer O ring retainingrmember I4 abuts against a shoulder II" in theouter housing II.

The shaft I3' hasa tapered portion I8 which is integrally formedwith adecreased diameter portion I9. The tapered portion I8 of the shaft I3 isreceived by a suitable counterbore |2a and the .decreased diameterportion I9, which extends out of the packing box I0.

According to the invention, for providingabearingseal that is responsiveto iiuid pressure so as to provide improved torque requirements, atapered retaining ring 29 is herein provided havinga trapezoidal crosssection. The tapered ring: 20 is positioned between the tapered portionIG ofthe shaft I3 and the portion of the outer housing II having thecounterbore I2a therethrough. The contour of the tapered ring-29conforms to the contour of the outer'housing II and the tapered portionI3 ofthe shaft I3;

For providing an inner seal, an inner O ring; 2! is suitably positionedina` groove 22 of the tapered retaining ring 20 and engages the taperedportion of the shaft I3. For providing an outer seal, an outer 0 ring 23is suitably positioned in a groove 24 of the tapered retaining member 20and engages the outer housing II.

For maintaining a minimum sealing pressure on the tapered ring 29 so asto provide an adequate seal under all conditions, a suitable pressureretaining spring 25 of the compression type engages the tapered ring 2tto provide a minimum pressure thereon. Abutting the pressure retainingspring 25 is a suitable cap 2li, which is secured to the outer housingII by suitable means, such as screws 2l. An aperture 28 is provided inthe cap 26 for suitably receiving the decreased diameter portion I9 ofthe shaft I3,

In operation, a fluid under pressure is applied from the cap end 26 ofthe packing box I0. The greater the pressure on the fluid, the greaterthe sealing effect. Since the iiuid engages the face of the taperedretaining ring 20 engaging the pressure retaining spring 25, thepressure bearing thereon causes a downward motion to force the O rings2| and 23 in a closer contact relationship with the rotatable shaft I3and the outer housing II, respectively.

As the pressure on the fluid is decreased, the pressure on the taperedring 20 is decreased to release the squeeze caused by the 0 rings 2l and23 engaging the rotatable shaft I3 and the outer housing II,respectively. The effect, therefore, is to provide a desirable sealingengagement at all times and yet decrease the squeeze to lower the torquerequirements on the rotatable shaft I3. Of course, the pressureretaining spring 25 engaging the tapered ring 20 maintains a minimumsealing engagement. The advantage gained by the present invention isnoteworthy in that it provides better torque distribution and tends tolessen locking.

It is to be understood that variations and modi" cations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a bearing seal assembly, an outer housing having a counterboretherethrough, a rotatable shaft received by said counterbore and havinga tapered portion thereon, a tapered retaining ring positioned betweenthe tapered portion of said shaft and said outer housing and having acontour conforming to the contour of said tapered portion and saidcounterbore, a surface on said tapered retaining ring for applying fluidpressure thereon for variably positioning said tapered ring in responseto fluid pressure, and a plurality of O rings in said tapered retainingring engaging said shaft and said outer housing for providing a sealingengagement therewith in response to fluid pressure.

2. In a bearing seal assembly, an outer housing having' a counterboretherein, a rotatable shaft received said counterbore and having atapered portion thereon, a retaining ring having a trapezoidal crosssectional area positioned between the tapered portion of said shaft andsaid outer housing and having a contour conforming 's to said taperedportion and said counterbore, an inner O ring in said retaining ringengaging thetapered portion of said shaft for providing a sealingengagement therewith, an outer 0 ring in said retainingr ring engagingsaid outer housing for providing a sealing engagement therewith, and asurface on said retaining ring for applying fluid pressure thereon forvariably positioning said retaining ring in response to iiuid pressure,said retaining ring causing increased sealing engagement in response toincrease in fluid pressure and enabling decrease in squeeze between saidinner O ring and said shaft in response to decrease in fluid pressure.

3. In a bearing seal assembly, an outer housing having a counter-boretherethrough, a rotatable shaft received by said counterbore and havinga tapered portion thereon, a tapered retaining ring positioned betweenthe tapered portion of said shaft and said outer housing and having acontour conforming to the contour of said tapered portion and saidcounterbore, a surface on said tapered retaining ring for applying fluidpressure thereon for variably positioning said tapered ring in responseto fluid pressure, a plurality of O rings in said tapered retaining ringengaging said shaft and said outer housing for providing a sealingengagement therewith in response to fluid pressure, and a pressureretaining spring engaging said surface on said tapered retaining ringfor maintaining a minimum sealing engagement between said O rings andsaid shaft and Said outer housing.

4. In a bearing seal assembly, an outer housing having a counterboretherein, a rotatable shaft received by said counterbore and having atapered portion thereon, a retaining ring having a trapedoizal crosssectional area positioned between the tapered portion of said shaft andsaid outer housing and having a contour conforming to said taperedportion and said counterbore, an inner O ring in said retaining ringengaging the r tapered portion of said shaft for providing a sealingengagement therewith, an outer 0 ring in said retaining ring engagingsaid outer housing for providing a sealing engagement therewith, a

surface on said retaining ring for applying fluidl pressure thereon forvariably positioning said retaining ring in response to fluid pressure,said retaining ring causing increased sealing engagement in response toincrease in duid pressure and enabling decrease in squeeze between saidinner O ring and said shaft in response to decrease in fluid pressure,and a pressure retaining spring engaging said surface on said retainingring for maintaining a minimum sealing engagement between said inner 0ring and said shaft, and said outer O ring and said outer housing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,070,987 Van Deventer Aug. l2, 1913 1,825,064 Livergood Sept.29, 1931 2,401,379 Smith June 4, 1946 2,616,453 Green NOV. 4, 1952

